LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH

JOB SHARE SCHEME

POLICY

The Council recognises that job sharing is an important recruitment and retention tool.

LEGISLATION

Employment Rights Act 1996: Provides for employees to be informed about their conditions of employment.

Equalities Legislation: Addresses the rights of individuals to be treated fairly and equitably and not to be discriminated against for reasons of race, gender and disability.

AIM

To enhance job and career opportunities for employees and improve efficiency whilst enabling the Council to attract new staff and retain existing staff unable to work standard hours.

APPLICATION

• Chief Officers or Service Managers shall decide whether or not jobs will be considered for job share. Reasons for not applying job share arrangements must be job related.

• Applicants can apply for job share either as an individual or with a partner. If they apply with a partner, individual applications will be treated on their own merit.

• Sharers will normally be required to share the hours evenly between them, however this does not preclude alternative arrangements which are mutually agreed and subject to review in the light of service needs. PROCESS

Job sharing is defined as the voluntary sharing by two people of the responsibilities of a single full time established job where the work, pay, holidays and benefits are shared.

Jobs can be shared in a variety of ways, e.g. split days, split weeks, alternate days or weeks. Such combinations will depend on the needs of the service and the job sharers.

Managers should ensure that wherever an arrangement of work hours is being settled, the hours/days/weeks determined for each job sharer forms a sufficiently viable package to attract new applicants should one half of the job share need to be advertised. This should be clearly explained to potential job sharers at the earliest possible time.

The method of working and division of duties must be clear. Such division may be into projects, tasks, clients, time or such other alternative division as meets the needs of the business/service. Effective liaison and communication between job sharers is important.

Employees who wish to job share their existing job should apply in writing to their Service Manager giving their reasons for it and how they see the arrangement working.

The application should be considered by the Service Manager and the implications fully considered. If practicable the Service Manager shall agree in principle to the job share arrangement, and shall, where appropriate, arrange for the recruitment process for a job share partner to begin.

Employees should be reminded that a reduction in hours will affect their holidays, pension, pay and pay related entitlements.

Where current employees are seeking to transfer to job share arrangements, this will normally commence when both partners are in post.

Job sharers will have access to training opportunities on the same basis as full time employees. Job sharers will be given equal opportunities in terms of selection, promotion and access to training. Job sharers who attend training courses in their own time at management’s request shall be paid at plain time.

If a job share request is refused, there must be good sound service reasons for the refusal.

If the job is held to be exempt and the application refused, the employee must be formally notified of the reasons in writing. If the employee is dissatisfied with this decision they should discuss the matter with their line manager and if they still remain dissatisfied they can submit a grievance. WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

- If an application is agreed, a revised contract of employment should be issued in accordance with the following:

  a) Each partner of a job share must have their own contract of employment, which may be permanent or temporary.

  b) Starting salary for a newly appointed job sharer will be calculated, pro rata, in the same way as if a full time appointment had been made.

  c) The number of hours to be worked, and any other arrangements governing working hours, will be stated individually for each of the job sharers.

  d) All terms and conditions of service, which apply to full-time employees, will apply to job-sharers.

  e) All entitlements associated with length of service, e.g. sick pay; annual leave; and other conditions of service will be individually applied and calculated on a pro rata basis (see L. B. Lambeth Leave Code for method of calculation of annual leave for job share employees).

  f) Payments and statutory holidays will be shared pro rata to the number of hours worked.

  g) Salary progression will be on an individual basis.

- Sharers in jobs attracting an essential car user allowance will receive the allowance for the lowest category of engine size in accordance with the provisions of the Green Book, Part 2, para. 8.1(b).

- Any review of the grading of the post will take into account the duties as a whole and not the individual duties and responsibilities of specific job sharers.

- If one job share partner leaves the following options may be available:

  - Increase the hours of the remaining job share partner
  - Seek alternative partner
  - Non-replacement of job sharer
  - Re-arrangement of hours

- Where one partner is absent from work for any reason, there is no contractual right of management to expect the other partner to cover. Where one partner agrees to cover for the absent job sharer, the additional hours will be paid at plain time. Where the job sharer is requested to, and does, work excess hours to those contracted, the Service Manager may agree to time off in lieu, or payment at plain time. • Changes to job share arrangements should be carried out in consultation with employees.